


Valeria Richards' Four Step Plan to Ensuring Uncle Johnny's Happiness

by procrastinationfairy



Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse)
Genre: M/M, the rest of the family make appearances as well but it's minor, val and johnny's relationship gives me life, very very slight johnny-angst (which is surprising in a johnny fic imo)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 08:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20240098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procrastinationfairy/pseuds/procrastinationfairy
Summary: Valeria Richards has always been able to solve every problem with her one true superpower: her mind. But when Val is imbued with the power to gauge the emotions of people around her, she learns that not everything can be solved intellectually, especially when the problem is that her uncle Johnny, one of her favorite people in the world, is not happy.





	Valeria Richards' Four Step Plan to Ensuring Uncle Johnny's Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> I have at least two fics I actually need to finish, but look at me out here, unable to resist JohnnyWyatt’s call . . . . But okay, give me a break. I just got rid of a migraine and galaxy brained this plot. It may not be perfect, but there are too few of us JohnnyWyatt writers to skimp out on publishing. Thank you to everyone who inspired me to fall for this ship, and to those of you who commented or gave kudos to my last fic. You gave me a reason to cram another fic into my short writing time before I return to Grad School Application Hell. 
> 
> I am a little frustrated by my lack of experience with Val’s character though. I’m still making my way through the mid-500s of the comics, so even though I’ve read a handful of newer ones, I don’t feel like I have a great grasp on how to write her and all her science thoughts (or her relationship with Johnny). That being said, I couldn’t wait to write this, so I hope you’ll excuse any glaring misconceptions. This takes place in some world where they’re still living in the Baxter Building, Franklin and Val are pretty young, and Ben and Alicia are married.

****“Val! Val, sweetie, everything is going to be okay.”

Mom? It was just like Mom to worry. Val was _fine_. She could feel she was fine. It was just a little hard to open her eyes. Maybe a lot hard to open her eyes. She could do it. 

“Her vital signs are all normal. The MRI shows no damage to the brain. Perhaps the Theta waves affected something my sensors can’t read . . . . Sue, step back, please. I want to run more tests.”

And there was Dad. Val wondered a little why he was thinking through this so slowly, but then she remembered this was Dad. He was worried, and he wasn’t saying everything aloud. It was a shame. If she could move her mouth, she could have told him what tests they should run. 

Belatedly, she realized he was trying to run tests on _her_. Which made sense. If Val was remembering right, she’d been hit by some sort of power displacer created by a D-list up and coming villain who didn’t truly understand the magnitude of her creation. She hoped her family had been smart enough to rescue the tech. That required more study, and Val wanted to head up that project. 

Her body was finally starting to cooperate, and Val groaned as she sat up. Inside, her chest ached in a strangely familiar way, though it was unlike any symptoms she could logically attribute to her situation. Almost instantly, the ache dissipated, replaced with a giddy flutteriness in her stomach.

“Valeria! Oh, my poor baby!” Mom’s face lit up, and she threw her arms around Val, squeezing her to her chest. 

“_Mom,_” Val protested. 

“Sue, my love, be careful. I want to make sure Val has no other injuries we can’t see,” Dad warned, even as his arm stretched away from the work he was doing at the monitoring station to pet Val’s hair. Dad didn’t always display his emotions as openly as Mom did, but he was just as protective. Both of her parents loved so deeply that Val could feel it every moment of her life--

Wait. No. That was wrong. 

Val never doubted that her parents loved her. No, their behaviors demonstrated the depth of their emotions easily, and that was why it was a constant in her life. But this was different. Val could _feel_ how much her parents loved her. It radiated off of them, as well as from the other side of the room. She lifted her eyes to where she could see Uncle Ben, Uncle Johnny, and Franklin waiting. Franklin was bouncing on his heels anxiously, though he smiled when Val caught his eye. Franklin was always a good brother, but something about his emotional state told Val he was going to be extra nice for a while. Out of guilt, the feeling that he should have been able to take care of Val and save the day, just like he should have been able to save Uncle Johnny, even though Uncle Johnny came back, and he’s okay now, but still--

Val wrenched herself away from Franklin’s emotions. Her brother had never had her intellect, but she’d never imagined how much he’d let emotions guide him instead. It was kind of dizzying, not that she’d ever admit it. So she didn’t understand how to deal with this emotional baggage yet. Whatever had given her this power, Val was sure she could master it quickly.

Looking to Uncle Ben, she gave it another test shot. Uncle Ben was worried, solidly and completely. She liked feeling Uncle Ben’s emotions. They were strong, but they were clear. Franklin had felt messy, but Uncle Ben felt like he had everything under control. This assessment made sense, even if Val wondered what she might find if she tried to peel back a few more layers. That was a concern for later. She was just testing this out. 

Uncle Johnny was next. He flashed a bright grin at her, the same way he always did. He almost didn’t look worried at all, which Val considered reasonable. With her father in charge, there was never any doubt that she’d be okay. Uncle Johnny always had faith in Dad, and Val thought that was wise of him. She let his emotions in. 

_ thank god val’s okay i don’t know what i’d do if she wasn’t val is just a baby i can’t believe she’s this big already but she’s still so small why did we take her with us she could have been hurt but she’s okay it’s okay reed’s got it under control smile it’s okay smile val’s awake now and she doesn’t need to worry _

Val yanked back abruptly. She could feel the blood drain from her face and her family’s chatter grow more worried again. She wished she could assure them, but she was still recovering from the barrage of emotion out of Uncle Johnny’s mind. 

She didn’t know why it had surprised her. Uncle Johnny was guided by emotion, just like Franklin, just like Mom. Val and Dad were really the only ones in the family who trusted in their logic and reasoning almost completely. Val herself was the most logical of all. She should have known that their emotions would be so easy to read. Uncle Johnny let his emotions cover every thought. Except--

Except it wasn’t just what Uncle Johnny was thinking that was giving her trouble. Sure, most of the emotions Val had faced were directly related to the situation in front of him, but that couldn’t begin to describe everything Val felt coming off of him. 

Underneath the layers of worry for Val, faith in her father, and anger at the jerk who did this to her, Uncle Johnny had another constant emotion: a sort of misery, almost resignation, that permeated everything in his life. 

“Val, baby, talk to me. Are you okay?” Mom was asking. 

Val nodded and swallowed down her conclusions. This required much more thought than she’d anticipated. “I’m fine, Mom,” she assured. “Just . . . getting my senses back.” 

Mom looked relieved, though an exchange of looks with Dad told Val that they still had plenty of testing they intended to do before they’d decide Val was okay. She debated whether she should tell her parents of her newfound emotional powers.

No. If they started researching them, they might take them away before Val had a real chance to determine what to do about Uncle Johnny. And Val wasn’t going to let that happen. 

* * *

Val had said that she was still getting her senses back, but she hadn’t realized how true that was. As the day wore on, she slowly felt everything come back a little stronger. It was like her mind had clouded over, and she’d hardly been able to function. After a full night’s sleep, her usual senses had recovered in full capacity. Unfortunately, this meant that her new power had also come to fruition. 

“I can’t eat this,” Franklin said, pushing his bowl of cereal away. Disgust, frustration, hunger--Val believes the word hangry applies far too well to Franklin at the moment. 

“Franklin, you have to eat breakfast,” Mom said. She had her hands on her hips, and exhaustion exudes from her. She was tired and exasperated, and she didn’t get much rest because she was worrying about Val. She didn’t have time to deal with Franklin not wanting to eat. 

Dad didn’t say much but to echo Mom’s sentiments. He was working on something on his tablet. He was tired too, but this was more typical. Dad often stayed up late working on projects, and he was too worried about Val not to keep running his results for further analysis. “It’s not bad cereal, Franklin. I thought this was the kind you like.”

“I _do,_ but all the marshmallows are gone,” her brother protested. 

“I wonder who picked out all the marshmallows,” Uncle Ben said, bemused as he grabbed Franklin’s bowl and ate it himself.

“Hey, that was my breakfast!”

“You weren’t gonna eat it, kid.”

Franklin jutted out his bottom lip. “But I’m hungry . . . ,” he whined, like he wasn’t old enough to eat cereal _without _marshmallows. 

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’m making eggs,” Uncle Johnny assured. He held the pan in his left hand while he used his right to whip up another batch. Fondness rolled off of him. Val had felt a similar feeling towards her the previous day. It was warm, affectionate, but a little sad in its own way. 

“Can you make pancakes?” Franklin asked, peeking out from where he’d buried his head on the table.

Mom shook her head. “We’re having a healthy breakfast today. No marshmallows. No pancakes. No sugar.”

It was funny. Val could feel a sort of pride in her, like she’d been a little devious--

“Mom, you took all the marshmallows out?”

Mom looked a little perplexed at Val’s sudden declaration. “Excuse me?”

“Mom, you ate my marshmallows?” Franklin cried. He was alarmed now, a little hurt. Okay, more than a little hurt. Franklin’s emotions were sharp and high-pitched, and now Val wanted to retreat to her lab just to get away from this. 

“No, she didn’t eat them. She took them out. Your mother and I discussed our family’s eating habits, and we decided it was time to cut out some sugar,” Dad said. He drew his stylus across the screen. 

Franklin’s eyes were wide, haunted, betrayed. “You can’t have cereal without marshmallows,” he said. 

“I’m with you, little man, but we gotta do what Mom says,” Uncle Johnny said. He swooped in with a plate of eggs and a wink. “Trust me, when I was your age, I wanted to eat cereal with marshmallows every day too. But Sue wouldn’t let me back then, and she’s not going to let you now. Besides, I think if you give it a shot, you’ll find some other foods you like even better.”

“Thank you, Johnny,” Mom said. She was clearly gratified by her brother’s support, which Val thought was dumb. Uncle Johnny usually agreed with her. 

“Perhaps you should have told Franklin what you did with the marshmallows,” Dad suggested. He set the tablet down and looked at Mom. They had one of their conversations with their eyes, which made Uncle Johnny stare in a strange, forlorn way. 

“Anyone else want eggs?” Uncle Johnny asked as he headed back to the stove and scooped up the pan again. A wave of hands went up, and he beamed a little brighter. That warmth buried inside of him started to overtake the misery Val had noticed yesterday. He was happy at this moment, cooking for everyone. He was happy that he could be around his family. But Val had to reexamine. Even the things that made him happy seemed to bring him down in turn. She had to determine the cause of this before she could rectify the situation. 

“Uncle Johnny, will you make me the heart egg toast?” she asked. It was something she’d liked a lot when she was younger, but she’d grown out of it, thank you very much. Valeria Richards was now a mature six-year-old who did not need her eggs and toast to look like a heart. This was just a test. 

The warmth inside Uncle Johnny grew brighter, burning hot for just a moment, then settling down into a sort of melancholy. “Sure thing, Val. Coming right up,” he said. He grabbed a piece of bread with a flourish as he started to cook again.

“Showoff,” Uncle Ben muttered. 

“Someone’s just grumpy because Alicia had to get up early to prepare for her art show,” Uncle Johnny mocked. Though he seemed to be baiting Uncle Ben, that forlorn feeling Val had sensed when he looked at Mom and Dad came back. They descended into one of their usual arguments, which gave Val time to reassess. She had to focus on the facts. Emotions were more complicated than she anticipated, but she could still divide this into facts. 

1\. Uncle Johnny was usually sad.   
  
2\. Uncle Johnny was happy when the family was together.   
  
3\. Uncle Johnny was happy whenever Franklin or Val would talk to him.   
  
4\. Even though these things make Uncle Johnny happy, they make him a little sad as well. 

It was all counterproductive. Val couldn’t understand what sort of conclusion she was meant to draw from contradicting facts. She had to be missing something. 

“And here is breakfast for my favorite niece!” Uncle Johnny grinned and set the plate down in front of Val, kissing the top of her head. Almost immediately, the answer came to her, like it was something she should have been able to guess for herself. 

Uncle Johnny wanted a family of his own. 

* * *

Now that Val understood why Uncle Johnny was sad, she had a simple plan to fix the situation. Uncle Johnny was the only adult in the family not married, which seemed to be the logical course of action.

Step 1: Uncle Johnny falls in love. 

Step 2: Uncle Johnny and his true love get married.

Step 3: Uncle Johnny and his true love have at least one child.

Step 4: Uncle Johnny is happy forever. 

This would work better if Uncle Johnny actually had a romantic relationship.

“So you see my problem,” Val said. 

On the other side of the screen, Wyatt Wingfoot stared at her curiously. 

“I do,” he said. It was more difficult to read emotions like this, but Val could still get a sense from him. Trepidation, reluctance to interfere, an intense, deep-seated longing way down underneath. “Val, you said you can tell Johnny is sad because you can _ feel _ it? With emotion superpowers?”

“Yes. The incident with the ray gun has made me hypersensitive to others’ emotions. I can basically tell what anyone’s feeling,” she said. 

Wyatt nodded slowly. “I think you need to tell your parents about this.”

Val huffed and crossed her arms. “No! I can’t tell them because they might take them away, and I need them to make sure I make Uncle Johnny _happy_. This is a very serious matter, Wyatt!”

Wyatt seemed to soften a little, with a less intense version of the fondness she always felt from Uncle Johnny. “Of course it is. Of all people, Johnny deserves happiness. But you can’t expect to solve this problem on your own.”

“I don’t,” Val said, very, very patiently. “It’s why I need your help.”

Wyatt paused. “My help?”

“You’re Uncle Johnny’s best friend!” she said. “Well, maybe after Spider-Man, but Spider-Man is like the worst guy to ask for help. Trust me.” She had already asked. That was a mistake. 

Through the screen, she felt another strange, not too kind feeling at the mention of Spider-Man, then a sort of guilt, like it wasn’t Spider-Man’s fault that Wyatt was feeling this way. Val didn’t understand. 

“That’s not what I mean,” Wyatt said. “Val, I do understand why you want to help. It is . . . distressing to hear that Johnny is so unhappy, if you’re sensing his emotions correctly. But we can’t force him to feel happy. And we can’t force a relationship for him. Johnny has to fall in love on his own.”

Val was unamused. “Okay. Fine. But we can still choose someone who fits into Uncle Johnny’s ‘type.’ I’ve done some statistics on his previous relationships to determine what his type is--”

“You what?” Wyatt laughed, lifting one large hand to cover his mouth. Val would have thought it was funny that he could still seem so big even over a video call if she wasn’t so mad at him. 

“This is serious! I have to do this right!” she said. She huffed and flopped back in her chair. Why didn’t Wyatt _ get _it? People like Uncle Johnny deserved to be happy more than anyone in the world. Mom and Dad were happy. Uncle Ben and Aunt Alicia were happy. Val wanted that for Uncle Johnny. He never, ever let anyone know that he wasn’t happy, and that wasn’t fair. He was always there when anyone else was sad. She had to do this for him. 

“Val. Val.” Wyatt finally seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, and his face grew more solemn as required. “Val, I do understand you want to help Johnny. Trust me. I do. But this isn’t something that you can do, nor is it your responsibility.”

“I--”

Wyatt held up his hand. “No. But if it will make you feel better, I’ll come to New York, and I’ll talk to Johnny for you.”

That would not make Val feel better, as a matter of fact. What would make Val feel better is if Wyatt helped her choose someone from her list of potential romantic interests. She had the list narrowed down to a group of five, starting with Bobby Drake (because ice and fire made a good combination) and ending with Crystal (because Crystal would make a cool aunt). She opened her mouth to say this.

“I promise you that even if you’re right about _ why _ Johnny is sad, it’s not going to help to have his niece planning dates for him,” Wyatt said. 

Val raised a brow. “And why not?”

“Because it’s always more complicated than that,” he said. He grew quiet as he looked out past the camera. “Val, do you know if Johnny is in love with someone right now? Is that why he’s sad? Because he wants that person, and he sees how happy your family is? Did he just break up with someone? Maybe that’s why he’s sad. Or maybe he’s just having a bad week. It could be nothing at all.”

“I can _ feel _ it, Wyatt. I know Uncle Johnny is sad because--”

Wyatt shook his head. “No. From what you described to me, you feel that he is sad. And you drew your own conclusions. I don’t think they were bad conclusions. But you’re still young. It’s hard for you to understand why adults feel the way they do.”

Val didn’t like that. “I understand more than basically any adult,” she argued. 

Wyatt smiled. “Sure, about most stuff. But emotions are hard to understand even for the people who are feeling them. And sometimes the only way to deal with them isn’t to fix what caused them. It’s to talk about them with the people you care about.”

Huh. An interesting supposition. Val pondered it over. She remembered crying over an experiment that didn’t turn out like she wanted it to. She remembered how her dad tried to help her solve it, but her mom held her and stroked her hair. They were both helpful, in their own ways, but perhaps Val didn’t give her mom enough credence in her solution. 

“Okay. You can come to New York and talk to Uncle Johnny. And if that doesn’t help, we show him my list and make him pick someone to date,” Val decided. 

Wyatt let out a low laugh. “Sure thing, Val. We’ll let him do that,” he agreed. “Guess I need to be packing. Take care, kiddo.” He signed off, leaving the screen black and Val alone.

* * *

Val kind of hoped Wyatt’s intervention would work. Perhaps it wouldn’t solve the real problem, but any time that Uncle Johnny spent happy and not so miserable would be good in Val’s book. It might even help with the real plan. If Val’s readings were to be believed, people tended to be attracted to happy people, not people who were desperate with the longing to start a family. As sad as it was to say, Uncle Johnny was undermining his own future by feeling the way he did. 

Wyatt arrived the next afternoon, making excuses about being in the city for a few reasons and deciding he might as well drop by the Baxter Building to visit old friends. 

“I’d be offended if you didn’t visit, man,” Uncle Johnny said, a hand over his heart. Since Wyatt had walked in the door, his mood had soared. The warmth inside of him was shining brighter, though still kind of heavy. Val could imagine this was the sort of weight people would carry proudly, if Uncle Johnny hadn’t been so worn down by carrying all of his other baggage. Still, having Wyatt around lessened all of Uncle Johnny's worries, and he stared at Wyatt with bright eyes. 

Val had hoped she’d have the opportunity to observe Wyatt’s technique in interrogating Uncle Johnny, but once the family had all sat around and caught up, before their daily lives called and Dad went back to the lab, Mom to forcing Franklin to clean his room, and Uncle Ben and Aunt Alicia to the opening of her new show, Wyatt whisked Uncle Johnny away. This left Val all alone in the family room, which was decidedly unfair. She had orchestrated this intervention, and she deserved to observe every happening. 

But Val had agreed to let Wyatt do this. She would only intervene once it became clear that Uncle Johnny needed more help than a simple conversation could give. Besides, she had her own projects that she’d neglected in her efforts to fix Uncle Johnny, so she headed down to her lab to get to work again. 

Roughly two hours later, the doors to her lab slid open, and Uncle Johnny barrelled in, wrapping his arms around her tightly. 

“Uncle Johnny, I’m working!” Val protested. 

“Oh, come on, it can wait! Let me hug you,” Uncle Johnny insisted. He pressed a kiss into her hair, and that feeling just like at breakfast the day before returned. Val’s stomach twisted. She was starting to get a little sick of feeling all these emotions. 

As if he could see it on her face, Uncle Johnny softened. He spun Val around in her chair before crouching down so he could cup her cheek. “Val. Honey, you know I love you, right?” he said. “It’s very sweet that you were worried about me. But I promise I’m okay. I can take care of myself. It’s not your job to make sure I’m happy.”

Val wanted to argue all of the reasons that it was her job. Uncle Johnny was family, and family was supposed to take care of each other. Uncle Johnny deserved to be happy because he always tried so hard to make everyone else happy. 

Uncle Johnny was her favorite, and Val hated that she’d never noticed that he wasn’t happy before. 

She sniffed once before throwing her arms around her uncle’s neck. “I don’t like that you feel like that,” she said. Uncle Johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and scooped her up into a tight hug.

“I don’t like that I feel like that either,” he assured. “But I promise you I’m okay. It’s just been a bad week.”

Val flashed back to what Wyatt had said. A bad week.

“You shouldn’t feel like that, even on a bad week,” she said. “I-- I made a list of people I think you could date and be happy with--”

Uncle Johnny laughed and squeezed Val a little tighter. The misery receded just a little. “Oh, sweetheart, you really didn’t have to do that,” he said, the love almost oozing out of him at this point. He slowly lowered her back to the ground. “Wyatt told me all about your plan. And it’s the sweetest thing. But I’m going to be okay. Trust me, I can find people to date on my own.”

Val rocked back on her heels. “I disagree. Your track record has shown that a lot of your relationships don’t work out long-term, and looking at those that do--”

Uncle Johnny winced, and Val suddenly got the sense that she’d said something wrong based on the flood of emotions back to her. “Val. My relationships are _ my _ business. And I really do appreciate that you were trying to help me. But I think we need to deal with our own problems. I’ll handle my love life. And you, young lady, need to come with me and tell your mom and dad what that ray gun actually did. They’ve been going crazy trying to figure it out.” He held out his hand and waited for Val to follow him towards the door, which she did reluctantly. 

“Mom and Dad are going to take these powers away,” Val said. 

Uncle Johnny nodded. “Probably. We don’t know where they came from, but my guess is they’re not yours. And considering you felt the need to get involved with my problems, I’m betting they’re not exactly easy on you.” He reached to tug on a strand of her hair, smiling down at her with that warm smile that washed away everything else. 

“It’s not exactly . . . pleasant, to know how everyone feels all the time,” Val admitted. 

“I can see that,” Johnny agreed. As they reached the exit, Val hopped up to press the button to close the doors behind them.

“Is there a reason that button isn’t installed at Val’s level?” Wyatt asked, not quite laughing, though Val could feel the humor in him. He was leaning against the wall just outside of the lab. Beside her, Uncle Johnny lit up again, and for one brief second, she felt none of that underlying sadness.

“I like to hop,” Val said. 

Uncle Johnny nodded gravely. “Who doesn’t like to hop?” He paused and gave Wyatt an almost strange smile. “We’re going to tell Reed and Sue about Little Miss Matchmaker’s new superpower. Want to come with?”

“Sure,” Wyatt agreed. He stepped up to Uncle Johnny’s other side as they walked through the hall. Val was too short to see all the way, but she thought she caught a glimpse of Wyatt grabbing Uncle Johnny’s other hand. “There’s nowhere else I want to be at the moment.”

Val thought over her list of ideal dates for Uncle Johnny again. Wyatt Wingfoot. She’d scratched him from the list considering his previous history--he dated Jennifer Walters, and Val remembered hearing Johnny talk before about how he was surprised they didn’t get married after all, even though they were off and on. She hadn’t had emotional powers back then, but now that she was remembering that instant, she thought maybe she remembered a little despair in his tone when he spoke of them together. 

Wyatt Wingfoot. It kind of made sense. Now that Val didn’t have to worry about finishing step one of her plan, she could move on to step two. Uncle Johnny always went overboard when he planned stuff. It would help to have a wedding planner to keep him in check. 


End file.
